KIRIBATI’S partially state-owned fisheries company Kiribati Fish Ltd, which is controlled by Shanghai Fisheries General Corporation (Group), announced late last year it will supply fish certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Under the partnership with Pacifical, which markets MSC tuna caught in PNA waters, Kiribati Fish is expected to process MSC-certified yellowfin tuna steaks and loins bound for the EU and US.

The supply begins this month. Kiribati Fish has already spent around $10million in its processing factory in Tarawa, said managing director, Xue Jun Du. Kiribati Fish was formed in 2010 as a partnership between the government of Kiribati (40 per cent), Golden Ocean Fish of Fiji (40 pc), and Shanghai Fisheries. Golden Ocean Fish is also owned by Shanghai Fisheries, meaning the Chinese firm controls 60 pc of Kiribati Fish.

JOSEPH Parker became the Pacific’s first world boxing champion after beat - ing Mexico’s Andy Ruiz in Auckland, New Zealand for the vacant WBO title. Now honoured as a matai, the New Zealand-born Luoesoliai Laauliaalemalietoa Joseph Parker has been feted in his motherland of Samoa by local dignitaries.

He is also the first New Zealand born world champion. Fijian Alipate Kororovou held the Commonwealth Middleweight title in the 1970s but no Pacific islander has ever been world champion untiol now. Samoan Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, was instrumental in ensuring his country paid $USD100,000 for promotional rights during the fight.

The money went towards promoting Samoa as a tourist destination as it ramps up hotel construction and airport refurbishment projects.

THE Solomon Islands has introduced online registration for business applicants at the Business Registry. Launched last week with a new look, Company Haus website caters to online applications for foreign investment licenses and business name registrations. The launch was made possible by the joint efforts of the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labour & Immigration (MCILI) and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) with support from the Australian and New Zealand governments as co-financers of ADB’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI). The online service is a huge boost and will save business applicants the usual time and travel constraints.

Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chair Jay Bartlett said the achievement was a very important milestone for the growth and enhancement of the business sector. Bartlett applauded the online services’ accessible reach for sole traders or SMEs who wanted to join the formal economy. “We encourage our local men and women to explore this exciting new opportunity,” Bartlett said. “As a chamber we are continuingly looking for ways to better support new and small businesses that can create employment and jobs for our future.” Hunter Masuguria, the MCILI Acting Permanent Secretary, launched the website upgrade.

Bishops speak on Papua CATHOLIC bishops from across the Pacific region have declared support for West Papua to have a greater international voice. Dignity for West Papuans was a focus issue for the executive committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands meeting in Port Moresby. Toowoomba Bishop Robert McGuckin and Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long represented Australia. “They (West Papuans) seek what every family and culture seeks: respect of personal and communal dignity, free expression of one’s aspirations, and good neighbourly relations,” the Catholic bishops said in a statement. “Political boundaries can never contain or control ethnic relationships and so we urge governments to support the West Papuan people’s desire to participate fully in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.”

The Uto Ni Yalo sails from Fiji to Vanuatu and then to Bougainville where it will load cocoa beans for New Zealand.

ORGANICALLY-grown cocoa beans from Bougainville will be shipped to New Zealand using ancient Pacific seafaring traditions. One tonne of beans will be sun-dried on the deck of the Fiji-flagged Uto Ni Yalo – which sailed more than halfway across the world using only the wind, waves and the stars for navigation – on the way to the Wellington Chocolate Factory. The voyage, which started from Suva on July 28, was made possible with philanthropic donations of 449 people who pledged more than $NZ37,000 on the crowdfunding network Kickstarter. “This is a chance for us to show that we, the people of the Pacific, can export our produce using sustainable shipping methods,” said Uto Ni Yalo captain, Angelo Smith. Funds raised will go towards a cocoa farming community in Bougainville.